Tuesday Ride

It hit 80 degrees this afternoon and I was out there for another 2 hour ride, doing the reverse of the route from yesterday. The wind was very strong, from the south, and I caught up with a fellow rider at mile 18 who joined me for the 12 mile ride home. He was faster than I am but I managed to keep up with him slowing every now and then on hills.

So that makes 7 days in a row, and 30 miles each day for the last three.

And my right knee is a little sore so I am unsure about the ride tomorrow.

Monday Ride

Since this is a "dead" week at work, I arrived at my usual 7:30 but skipped out at 2:30 and was on my bike at 3 for a nice leisurely (14 mph) 2 hour ride. Still doesn't feel like "exercise" at this pace, but it must be doing something. Will weigh in at the end of the year and see where I am. Hopefully around 160. Weather tomorrow is supposed to be the same as today. It was sunny and 65 with no wind at 3 PM.

Sunday Ride

Managed to ride for 2 hours today. It was certainly nice and sunny and while there appeared to be little wind, it was there. Saw a lot of people riding today. First a single, then 4 folks then a group of six or seven, including 5 women, and finally on my road home a group of about 30. I didn't know which bike club it was as there are three in the area that large.

So that makes 5 days in a row, the same as Thanksgiving, although three of my days were one hour. The next few days promise to be sunny and I will continue to ride in the afternoon.

Sunday Weather

Calm winds, albeit a little chilly, but by 1 or 2 AM the temps should be around 55 and it's a sunny cloudless day so I will get an easy 2 hours in for my 5th day in a row.

Saturday Ride

Today is my sister's birthday. So Happy Birthday Julie!

It was very windy out there today; about as bad as it gets, and today is was from the west. Did one hour and that was enough. Could be doing 2 hours but lack the motivation and partnership out there. But I have ridden 4 days in a row.

Friday Ride

Despite the wind I rode on Friday, for an hour. It was an unbelievable 80 degrees. The wind was so strong that on one very gentle downhill I was racing along at nearly 40 mph, pedaling furiously in my biggest gear. Hope to get out on Saturday as well.

Friday

There is the proverbial good and bad news today. The good news is that it will be near 80. The bad news is that it's very windy, and I do mean very windy -- the type you can hear howling from in doors -- and it rained over night so the roads are still wet.

I will wait till later in the day and see what happens.

Christmas Ride

Merry Christmas!

There were very few people out on the road today, and while the afternoon was warm, in the low 60's, there was a strong south wind and the day was gray and overcast.

But I managed 2 hours out there and it certainly beats sitting at home. Will try again tomorrow for another 2 hours. I have a thought at the back of my mind to ride the year out; that would be another 10 days in a row.

Wednesday Ride

So, needless to say I never rode last Sunday, as the temps never got up over freezing and I had no way to keep my feet warm.

But I did get out this afternoon as it was sunny and 55, although the north wind made it feel much colder. It was an unusual ride in that I rode into the wind at the beginning, which I had I planned for, but also at the end -- where I was supposed to have the wind at my back all the way home. Instead the wind shifted. Bummer. Rode for almost an hour and half. Too cold to do 2 hours and didn't have enough motivation.

19 degrees this morning

This is about as cold as it gets here in Dallas. Matches our 10 year low. Pretty cold outside and I will wait until the sun warms up the air as we are suppose to hit 40 today. But it is sunny so it may feel warmer. Anyway, I will need to dress warmly, but it's generally just my feet that get cold.

Saturday Ride

Despite a very gray and windy day and one where I just as soon as sat and read in front of the fireplace I went out and biked for 2 hours. As always the most enjoyable moment was the last few miles, with a strong wind behind me -- so much so that I was able to creep up to 26 mph on the final road home.

But it was gloomy out there and the north wind was strong and biting.

My average speed was just over 14, and I am certainly glad that I was able to do it, and get it over. Better than not going out.

Friday Ride

I "snuck" out of the office at 3:30 PM because it was sunny (for the first time in a week) and warm -- in the high 60's -- and I thought I could get one hour in before night fell.

I know that I have written that I have "good" days and bad days as well as normal days and I never knew on any given days which one would show up. I have read that the same happens with pro bike riders, although their normal days way outstrip mine!

And I always know after a few minutes when these good days magically appear because I can sense that pedaling is effortless. Around my midpoint of my ride I noticed that my average speed was 15, and I had just spent the past few minutes climbing Pearson hill. I felt good and decided to really go for it and time trial all the way home at 18. For the most part I was able to ave 20 on the flats and even though I knew I was just on the threshold of going anerobic, I held it all the way home. Who knows when the next day like this will occur. And it's certainly not diet related because lunch was 3 slices of pepperoni pizza and an afternoon of chocolate!

I ended the ride with a average over 16 and averaged over 18 for the second half of the ride. It was certainly my best hour on a bike in a long time.

And yet another lost week

Last Sunday was beautiful, at 78 degrees and then Monday morning it was 28 degrees, and we had frozen precip and then fog and misty rain all week, until today, Friday where it's sunny and warm. If I am lucky, maybe I will get to sneak out today and ride after work. Otherwise, it's back to being a weekend warrior. On the plus side, my arm feels like it's healing, so I may get to swim one of these weeks.

Sunday Fun

My ride was excellent. My only regret was that it was only 2 1/2 hours. But had I chosen the 50 mile ride a very distraught mother might not have recovered her expensive smart phone, which I found in the middle of the road, circled back to pick it up, fond a home entry in the contact list and phoned it. she had dropped it while running that morning and miraculously no car had run over it. I biked to her house and dropped it off with her daughters.

How windy was it today? Well, with the wind behind me on two nice stretches that have a very slight decline, I was able to hold 32 mph for over a mile on basically flat ground. In both instances the speed limit was 30 and cars did not pass.

Wish I could do this every day!

Wimping Out

I decided to ride only for one hour today. Although the day was warm, at 65 degrees, the wind was unbearable and downright dangerous at times, almost blowing me off the bike several times. I rode a route that maximized south to north, to ride with the wind and minimized the ride home into the headwind. I did see two other cyclists out there, which was surprising. I may ride earlier tomorrow, as the wind picks up after noon.

Saturday Wind

It is supposed to be 65 out today, but very windy. The wind is already here, although the temperature is still only in the 50's so far. So my plan is to head out after lunch for a two hour giro.

Another Lost Week

OK, I can see a pattern here now that I can't swim and it's too dark to ride during the week; I will be a weekend cyclist (warrior) until March, with a brief interlude during the last 2 weeks of the year). I even find it too cold and dark to walk after -- or before work.

Met another fellow cyclist yesterday who rides my speed, which is always unusual -- but they are on the other side of town.

Sunday Wind

I traded wind for warmth on Sunday. In the morning there wasn't much wind, but it was 32. In the afternoon it was in the low sixties, but very windy: a steady 20 mph wind. I decided to route my ride to start with the wind, going north so that I would also finish going north, with the wind behind me. No matter, riding into the wind was a bear for 10 miles.

My one regret was passing a cyclist going up hill w/o saying anything, but I was moving so fast because of the downhill before it that I though they'd never hear me, and I also thought I would spook the person, and I wasn't going the stop and chat in any event. But still, I felt bad -- yet I didn't want to slow my momentum on the up hill.

Saturday Bike

While I am a big fan of riding as early as possible, in the winter in Texas there are on usually two distinct weather days. The morning can be very chilly, at 32 degrees, and the afternoon can be a pleasure, at 60 degrees. My ride on Saturday proved that waiting for the rise in temperature is well worth it. It was about 60 when I started out for an absolutely delightful 2 hours and 30 minute ride. I saw a lot of cyclists out there who had the same idea as I did, including one group of 6 that I joined briefly when we found ourselves waiting at a train crossing. I drafted them for 1/2 mile but they were booking at a 22 mph clip, up a light incline, and that's not a pace I can sustain.

But the afternoon was a delight, and I look forward to a repeat on Sunday.

Lost Week

Well, I "rested" all week, due o cold, darkness and lack of time I did no exercise the past five days. I still have tendonitis in my right arm that prevents me from swimming, which is a pain, and I hope to get out today. It's 9 am and 32 degrees, but it's suppose to hit almost 60 by the end of the day, and it's sunny and there's no wind.

Wednesday Rest Day

So I rested Monday. And Tuesday. And now Wednesday. Thursday is Italian lesson and I am sure I will beg off Friday as I need to have my right eye operated on in the afternoon.

And so a lost week.

But I can't get motivated after 10 hours at work and coming home in the cold and the dark of day. Ugh.

Sunday Ride

Well, there was one very nice part of the ride today -- you guessed it -- the moment I stopped outside my garage, having pedaled for 2 hours in a furious wind that at times gusted up to 40 miles an hour.

It was brutal out there. Not cold, and not all that gray -- but the wind threatened to pick me up off the road and toss me a ditch. It was scary at times and no fun for most of it.

But I set out to ride two hours a day 5 days in a row and I did it.

Will walk the rest of the week and ride next weekend. Hope to get some serious riding in the last 2 weeks of the year.

Sunday Wind

Well, it's Sunday -- one day left to complete my goal of riding 2 hours a day 5 days in a row over Thanksgiving.

It's another gray, cold day today -- but the added bonus is a big wind from the north. Yuck! I will go out in the aftenoon when it's hopefully warmer.

Saturday Bike

Despite a gray start to the day, the sun played peekaboo with us most of the mid morning to early afternoon and I did get out for my 2 hours today, so that's 4 days in a row and 6 of 8. Tomorrow will be the last of 5 and 7 of 9. The ride was a relatively calm one, with little wind and perhaps temps just under 50.

Friday Bike

All good things come to those that wait -- and I was rewarded with another 2 hour bike ride this afternoon after a morning full of rain.
OK, so it was cold, damp and gray and dark out there, but it was dry, for the most part, on the roads and there was little wind. But after five days of riding for two hours under gray skies I am beginning to wonder when the sun will shine. But hey I will take today over a rainout.

Tomorrow looks good to continue my drive for five (days in a row that is).

Friday Rain

Well it's raining outside, although the thunderstorm has stopped -- but the rain continues. Weather report says that it may end this afternoon. Biking looks doubtful. Don't know about walking, although there is always the treadmill. Could be worse. Went to bike in Italy 2 years ago and it rained 3 days in a row after two good days of cycling. Not only that, it had rained on the drive up to the cycling center from Rome as well as the drive back. All told, 5 days of rain out of the 8 we were there. We did have one decent day in Rome before we left.

So I guess I will wait until this afternoon and see what happens.

Thursday Walk/Bike

Just like the previous three days I have cycled this week, it was gray and cloudy -- albeit warm at 65 -- which is warm enough for shorts and short sleeves kit. May be the last day for this in a while. I toyed with the idea of doing 50 miles today, which would have taken another hour but thought there was no reason to push my luck, as I hope to ride LD another 3 days this week.

It was very quiet on the roads today with nary a car out there. Saw maybe two cylcists and that was it.

I also walked my 4 miles before the ride, as I did yesterday and last Sat/Sun.

Wednesday Walk/Bike

As the weather was warm -- 70 -- albeit gray, overcast and none too inviting -- but did I mention 70 degrees, I blew off work at noon and came home and walked for an hour and then rode for 2. It really didn't feel like exercise and I think I need to push a little harder or go longer.

The weather is suppose to cooperate tomorrow, for Thanksgiving so I will repeat. I am determined to do this 5 days in a row.

But this is definitely not Italy. Really boring w/o a cycling partner.

Halfway home

I started this blog just about 6 months ago, and will end it just at one years worth of posts.

I didn't get out today and rationalized that it was Monday, a cyclist's day of rest.


Hope to walk tomorrow. Sunny today but VERY windy, 20-35 mph.

I did a quick search on Chase Jernigan and found his mother's tribute website. Died in a car wreck at 1:50 AM on his father's birthday. How awful.

Chase Jernigan

I never knew Chase Jernigan, but for three years he's been on my mind briefly on almost all my 2 hour rides. The reason for this is that on the two hour ride I always pass a cross erected in his memory, against a tree, about halfway into my ride. It went up about three years ago, with fresh flowers and notes left around it. Based on the dates he was in high school, and probably hit the tree with his car and died. What the cause was on a straight road, I don't know. Was he wearing a seat belt? Probably not, but I don't know that either. Maybe a drunk driver hit his car. The facts I do not know. I only see the roadside memorial, A simple cross, painted white that someone made.

They say you never recover from the death of a child. That is probably true. I don't know if Chase's parents lived nearby, and I imagine it would be unsettling to drive by that cross every week.

It wasn't there yesterday. Taken down by either the family or the city, who is complying with some recent state and federal guidelines that are removing these memorials which have sprung up along side our highways in the last few decades.

I won't miss seeing the cross, although I doubt I will forget it.

Gray day continues. 2 hours. 66 degrees.

Weekend of 6 hours exercise was all I needed.

Sunday Walk

Weather is still very gray and overcast, although the humidity is high and it feels very damp out there. Temp is 50 but feels much warmer than yesterday's 47. Did 4 miles from 9-10 and came in. Will bike this afternoon when the temps are supposed to be around 65, which is almost short sleeve weather for biking.

This week is thanksgiving week, and with a little luck I can ride Wednesday through Sunday, although it rarely works out that way due to weather.

Saturday Ride

Well, I did make it for the full two hours today, although the moment I finished was the best moment of the ride.

I came in from my one hour walk and was pretty warm, so I figured I should hop on the bike instead of having lunch and waiting and then going out -- so that's what I did -- put on my helmet and bike shoes and off I went. It wasn't too bad as my body was warm, although my toes were a bit chilled. I need to put tape over the air holes in the shoes.

Hope to repeat tomorrow.

Saturday

Well, it's not raining, but it is cold and overcast and none too inviting out there.
I am a great believer in Sunshine helping me out on a cool day. No such luck today. Was planning on an hour walk and then 2 hours on the bike. Will have to see how long I last on the bike. It's one of those days to just stay inside near a roaring fire.

Friday Walk

It took 2 miles to get warm yesterday after work while I walked, and I was doing a very fast walk, as the colder it is, the faster I walk. I haven't walked when it was really cold out as the marathon is always in early November and I don't walk after the marathon until the following summer.
I put on 3 layers, walked out of the house, around the corner and came back for another layer. That was enough to keep me somewhat warn until about the 2 mile marker, when I was finally content.
At least I managed 2 hours of exercise during the week. Not great, but better than nothing.

Wednesday Walk

I finally made it out for an hour of exercise, but it's been a rough week. Had a headache Monday, business engagement on Tuesday and knew I had Italian on Thursday, but Wednesday was perfect. 4 miles. But clearly I need more on the other days. Need a solution.

Chose your Sunday Ride

One could have ridden this morning, when the windchill made the 35 degree temps feel like 29, or this afternoon, when it was a beautiful 70 degrees. Obviously I choose the latter. Mom didn't raise no fool!
I am not a fan of cold weather, although I rode through the winter in the Northeast for years. Three layers n top and tights and I am all set. But it's far more enjoyable to ride when it's 70.
And today it was beautiful, little wind and I averaged a relaxing 14 mph.

Regretfully, that's it for cycling until next weekend.

W/O swimming, it's back to walking during the week. Well, at least I get to listen to music.

Saturday Windy Ride

It took all the willpower I could muster up to ride yesterday but I was determined to get out. Had a social function that started at 1 PM and I was going to ride afterwards. I was on the road at 4 PM and knew I would have an hour before sundown.

It was very windy earlier in the day, gusting to 30 with a steady breeze from the north at 15-25. No it was not going to be fun.

I planned to ride into the wind starting out and come home with the wind at my back.

All very well, until the wind died down as I made the turn for home, and I missed out on a screaming finish. Such is life on the road.

Saturday Swim

Well, as Glida Radner said, it's always something.
The tendonitis that I felt in my right inside arm at the elbow at the last Saturday's swim returned at the beginning of the swim. Not as pronounced as last week -- but still very noticeable.
So I will have to shut down the swimming for at least a month to let it heal, because one week didn't do it.

Which is a shame, because other than that my swims the past two times have been wonderful. I finally solved the leaky goggles issue and I was back in swimming shape after a concentrated 5 weeks of practice.

Oh well -- back to biking and walking I suppose, as I need something to do during the week.

Saturday

Well, a lost week here, what with my eye surgery and business lunches and after work events, I managed 5 days of inactivity, which is rare when I am not injured.

And today is a very windy day here, which will make the bike ride very hard.

Plan to swim this morning, then bike in the late afternoon, when I am hoping it will be warmer. It's in the 40's at the momen, and scheduled to hit the mid 50's. Did I mention that I dislike cold weather? :)

Tuesday

Had to have minor surgery on my eye this morning, a five minute affair where they burn a pinprick size hole in your iris with a laser in order to prevent glaucoma as you age(I have a "narrow angle" prism behind my cornea that makes pressure buildup possible) -- which is why I never got to the pool today. The procedure was done in the morning but by the time I finished it was 11AM and I needed to get to work.

And Wednesday and Thursday and Friday I have business lunches, so this week is a write off. Oh well, I suppose everyone has weeks like this.

Change in Plans

I had planned on swimming today, as my arm felt OK, but my car wouldn't start and I had to catch a ride to work -- and didn't have transportation to the pool -- so much for plan A. Plan B -- to walk for an hour when I cam home, did not work out as it poured. So much for plan B.

As they say, tomorrow is another day.

And Thanksgiving looms -- where every year I have a grand plan to ride 4 days in a row, 2 hours a day. And either I get hurt just before the week or it rains. Let's pray for neither.

Sunday Ride

While it was windy today, the temps were pleasant, near 70, and the ride was very enjoyable, albeit a bit boring. I have spent the better part of the last 2 years riding by myself, and it does tend to get a bit boring. Over the years I have put together a variety of bike groups -- but my last riding partner, from NC, stopped riding last August, when his son's football practice started. He and I rode for a few months. For a few months before him there was another guy from NC I rode with, but after a few months it was evident he was too fast. And before that t was about a year and a half when another riding partner of mine left the state for Indianapolis (I've had two other people I know from here move there in the past year; one women works with me and the other lived down the block.)

I must admit that I prefer riding with another person as the conversation is much preferred to my own thoughts. Most of my biking partners have moved away. Barbara and Aaron, Jim, Jackie, Greg and others have just faded away.

Fortunately what I lack in speed I make up in motivation -- as it's not easy exercising as much as I do by myself.

So another Sunday, another 2 hours.

Saturday Bike

A very nice relaxing 2 hours on the bike, in picture perfect 70 degree weather with only a slight northwest wind. I was not as beat as last Saturday's ride following an hour's swim, but not as fresh as Sunday's ride, when I did not swim beforehand.

I will probably skip my swim today as I have a slight muscle strain in my right arm just on the inside of my elbow -- which I felt on the last 10 laps of my swim yesterday, and figure there is no reason to push it. It can't have healed overnight. I felt it every time I reached for my bike water bottle.

Saturday Swim

Swam for an hour this morning and the swim was perhaps the best of my 5 weeks of intensive effort. It seemed like an effortless hour, listening to Bernstein conduct Beethoven's 3rd sym, called The Hero, or Eroica. Legend says that he wrote it to honor Napoleon, but upon hearing that Napoleon proclaimed himself a king his name was scratched off the manuscript. It was his first great triumph. His first and second symphonies were certainly good, but the third was in another league altogether.

It was only my third swim of the week after 4 weeks at 4x. I will swim tomorrow as I have a heavy week of business lunches planned. will have to go back to walking for an hour on those days to get some exercise in.

Well...off to bike for 2 hours.

Friday

I had another business lunch I had scheduled on Friday without thinking earlier in the week; I tried to change it to later, but couldn't so I blew Friday too.

It's Saturday morning now and I am planning a repeat of last Saturday, Swim for an hour and then bike for two (when the temperature warms up).

Wednesday/Thursday Business Affairs

Had a business lunch yesterday and a conference all day today so no exercise. Tomorrow back in the pool.

Tuesday Swim

I figured I needed to swim today as I have a business Lunch on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

So I tried to glide more on each stroke and was able to reduce my stroke from 17 per lap to 15 per lap without too much trouble. But it will take practice. I managed to swim the whole 30 minutes that way.

And I think I am done with Sibelius. Onto another symphony.

Monday Swim

Another good swim today, and I met the Monday crowd, including two pretty fast people who were lapping me with regularity.

But the most important part of the day was reading some articles about how to swim faster. I finally read an article that makes the most sense of everything I have read about swimming faster. Basically it's about getting the most propulsion per stroke I take 17 stokes to cover 20 yards of a 25 yd pool. (The other 5 yds are push off.) I need to get the 17 to 12. My stroke is apparently very inefficient.I knew that, but know I what to do to make it more efficient, and it's not about swimming "faster" with my arms.

We will see how this works tomorrow.

Sunday Bike

It was a return to form on Sunday for the bike ride, such as my form is. My average was over 14 whereas on Saturday it was just over 13. Of course I did not swim on Sunday first. And while I would have swam if the pool was open I decided it didn't warrant an hour's drive (1/2 in each direction). Will swim on Monday instead. And good news, at least for the day, in that there was no lingering knee pain. So we'll see what happens next weekend.

Saturday Swim

Well, I have to admit that I did not realise that Sibelius' great 5th symphony clocked in at an hour. I was figuring at 45 minutes that it would end. That's when I was mentally prepared for the swim to end. But no, it dragged on all the way to one hour, and since I was not going to be denied the ending I swam for 60 minutes straight with the pull buoy. And only enough when I went back and added up the movements from the CD it should have been 45-48 minutes (I just added in my head and rounded). I have no idea why the CD played "slower" on my MP3 player, But I know for a fact that I turned it on at 10:10 and turned it off at 11:10. A mystery.
Any way, the swim was great, and my goggles never leaked once.
Sibelius is a titan of European music not just in Finland. He lived till 92 but never published any music after the age of 50. His house is a national museum in Finland, although I never got to it. I saw a great violist play his violin concerto last month at the DSO.
Came home and had lunch and now out for a 2 hour bike ride. Hopeful that the knee holds up.

Well, the bike ride absolutely sucked!
I actually felt my knee about 400 yards into the ride, which wasn't a good sign, and about 3 miles in I felt very tired and completely out of it. Now I have felt like this on a number of long rides, usually after 50 miles, or sometimes at the end of rides where I have run out of food, but this was from the beginning. I could have bailed at 7.5 miles where I turn around for my hour ride, but refused to wimp out. I know my body can handle this so I had to wait until my brain realised that as well.
It was a long wait!
I didn't feel OK until I was almost home.

But during the ride I did remember one fact -- that when I weighed myself after swimming I was at 57.5% hydration -- and normal for me is 60% -- and every percentage point is critical to peak performance. I think I was dehydrated from swimming and no matter how much water I drank on the bike it was not enough.

So I finished the 2 hours at a leisurely pace and called it a day.

Friday Swim

I missed my Thursday swim due to work (darn, I hate when that happens :)) and was sweating it out today while on a very long conference call with my managing partner and a client that began at 11 and showed little signs of ending until I excused myself at noon when it appeared we were winding down. The pool I swim at is open for adult lap swim from only 11:30 to 12:30 and I would have been very cranky about missing my third swim of the week as I only have one more day in the week to do my 4th swim.

I made was in the pool at 12:10 and swam for 25 minutes. It was a good swim and my goggles didn't bother me much at all. I did time myself for one lap and it was 20 seconds. Ugh! Very slow. Now I wasn't kicking (I was using a pull buoy) but still...

I had a conversation today with an old friend and training partner. I used to train in swimming and bicycling with this person, although truth be told I could only keep up on the bike in the beginning of the season -- and we were equal in the pool. I miss training with a partner as there's little motivation except my own to get going.

My goal was to swim 4X a week this month and tomorrow I will acomplish that goal; and then ride for 2 hours on the bike. I will repeat the bike on Sunday but may not swim as the pool is closed for a meet. Closest open pool is about 25 minutes away.

Till tomorrow.

Tuesday Swim

I am closing in on my 4th week of swimming 4X a week, and feeling very comfortable in the water, although my goggles leak and continue to be a problem. I was actually the fastest person in the pool.
Will bike this weekend and also have to make a decision if I swim on weekends too. I will definitely swim during the week.

The NY Marathon is this Sunday and I still feel sad about not being in it this year. It is such a great event and the anticipation was fun. Maybe next year.

Sunday Swim

Swam to Brahm's 4th Symphony today as well as the first part of Orf's Carmina Burama. Swam a little over a mile in about 50 minutes. Decent swim although my goggles kept leaking.

I saw a coach there today that I see a lot, Kevin, who coaches kids mostly. He had one 8th grader who was very fast and did a beautiful butterfly. She hasn't reached puberty yet and when she does and gets physically stronger she should be a standout. She's doing about 24 seconds for 50 yards. I think my workout rate is twice that!

This is the beginning of my fourth week of swimming and I will swim twice during the week and then bike for an hour Saturday and Sunday and probably swim as well.

Longest Swim in 35 Years

I had my longest swim in 35 years this morning, An hour and 5 minutes, swimming to Beethoven's 9th Symphony, which is typically about 65 minutes.

I remember quite clearly when I last swam over 45 minutes and I was at university, and decided to swim 2 miles one evening instead of one. I lost 25 pounds my first semester because of swimming. But I can't remember if I swam every week or every year, or just my first year.

Today's swim was very good and I have begun to master the alternate side breathing stroke.

Next weekend, on the bike -- although I will swim during the week.

Thursday Swim

If this is Thursday than I'm in the pool.
I think my last swim with Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.
I think I'm getting a bit stronger although it's only been 3 weeks and my training program will probably only train me for long slow distance, no sprinting. Not that I have any speed. Never had it. Never will. I am the same speed today as I was at 18. Maybe that's a good thing. I have lost none of my speed!

Tuesday Swim

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel here. One more week of swimming and then a gradual ease back on the bike, albeit at the very end of the season here.

Tuesday's swim was pretty anticlimactic. Another 30 minutes that always seems like a rush given the timing during the middle of the day. Stayed with Swan Lake/Sleeping Beauty/ Romeo and Juliet fantasy (You may know this as...but did you realise it's also the theme song from..)

Today is actually Thursday so I am due for another day in the pool at 11:30. After 2 weeks I obviously don't see any change in my body, but then I don't think I'm swimming enough miles.

Sunday Swim

Halfway through my self imposed rest month from biking. Two weeks in. Ninth time in the pool in that period.

Did another mile, swimming to Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Swam at Carroll. Two more weeks to go and then back on the bike.

Saturday Swim

Another day, another mile.
Two week into a month of swimming and averaging 4X a week.
The guy next to me, who was training for a race by doing intervals, was also wearing a FINIS MP3 player. He told me he's had it for a year. It's the first person I've seen wearing one.
Swim went by pretty quickly and I breathed both left and right the whole way, as it's beginning to feel a bit more normal, although it still feels "wrong" and sloppy. Hopefully more practise will help.

And my poor bike looks so forlorn in the garage.

2 more weeks!

Thursday Swim

Another decent swim today at lunch, but boy, am I slow. A 40 minute mile if I cruise and maybe a 35 minute one if I press. Did one thing today in the pool I have never done before -- breathed both right and left -- not just right, as I have been for almost 50 years. To be honest I have never been able to swim as effortlessly breathing left as well as right and thought maybe it would get rid of a persistent neck/headache I have had for a week that seemed to coincide with my increased swimming.

I managed to swim the whole 30 minutes with alternate side breathing and was pretty pleased as I rarely learn to do anything new in sports. I suppose if I keep this up in another 20 years I should have it down pat!

Tuesday Swim

Back at Grapevine pool during lunch hour. Leave at 11:30, arrive at 11:40, 5 minutes to change, 30 minutes to swim, 5 minutes to change and 10 minutes back to the office -- a fast paced hour.

Swam to Itzak Pearlman playing the Carmen Suite and violin concerto by Lalo, which is outstanding. I heard it at the Dallas Symphony a few years ago.

Sunday Swim

Swam another mile on Sunday -- listening to Brahms Symphony No. 2 -- which I did not warm up to. Have heard only the 4th, which I have really liked. Will try that tomorrow.

Swam at the Carroll Aquatic center, so 3 different indoor pools this week. Week one into my forced bike layoff. 2 more weekends and it will be a month off. Can't see the light at the end of the tunnel yet.

There were two "real" swimmers next to me, and it's still hard for me to see where they get their speed. It's a 30 minute mile for me.

Swiiming

Swam four times this week, starting last Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and today, Saturday. Today was the longest swim, at a mile as I listening to one whole CD -- of CSNY -- Deja Vu; If that doesn't date me!

I confess that as much as I like swimming I find it boring when I swim by myself. Swam indoors all week at Grapevine Natatorium and today hit the Keller Natatorium for the first time since last spring. And since there are not enough adult swimmers doing lap swim to make it worth while to maintain the front desk, swimming there is free too. What a bargain.

Swam next to a triathlete who broke his foot two weeks ago when he tripped coming out of the water on wet grass during the first leg of a triathlon. He didn't have a cast on, just a boot, but was doing flip turns and pushing off the walls hard -- which I thought odd, but it's his recovery.

I may swim tomorrow, but at the Carroll Aquatic center, closer to our house -- as Keller is closed on Sundays.

Weighed myself today and am at 160 -- which I've been at since I was 18 -- plus or minus 3 pounds.

Tuesday Swim

My first indoor swim since the pool closed for renovations for the summer last May 15, and true to form I saw the same core group of swimmers there on their lunch hour -- as it's still the best deal in town -- Free. They have free adult swim from 11:30 to 12:30 M-F. Can't beat that. Did my usual half hour, but I do need to change my audio as I am finally growing tired of Grieg and Born in the USA -- although it's now Thursday and I have forgotten to do so.

Swim was fine although my right shoulder started to pain me in the last 5 minutes. Probably because I use the pull buoy the whole time and don't kick.

Will try and swim today during lunch -- which will make 3X this week. Saturday would be the 4th time.

Monday Rest Day

I am still feeling a bit of exercise glow from my swim yesterday as that's the best swim workout I have had -- and the hardest -- in about two years. And I do remember that swim too, because I was training with a friend and I beat them in our "non" race workout. It was the last time we swam together and it's been about 2 years since I have swam that fast -- thanks to the cold and the desire to go faster than the swimmer next to me. (Which is why another friend I have who swims, PJ, dislikes men swimming around her -- because they are so competitive -- although I never race her.

Will try and swim tomorrow during the day.

Sunday Swim

I have no idea how cold the water was in the pool outdoors but it took me 12 laps to get warm. Last weekend it took between 2 and 4 laps. I am betting the water is under 80. It was just a but chilly at first.

The pool was officially closed last week, on October 1, so I snuck in, and was surprised when another man and his young daughter joined me: they also climbed over the fence.

I swam for 30 minutes, at a pretty fast clip, as I wanted to swim faster than the other guy in the pool. Which I did, but not by much.

I made the decision to stay off the bike for a month and also not walk, so swimming is it for the next month. I am planning on swimming every other day for the next month.

Saturday Bike

Did an easy 50 on Saturday but my knee bothered me off and on so clearly it hasn't healed in the 2 weeks that I was off the bike and walking -- so regretfully I am shutting down the bike for a month and see if that works, as 2 weeks didn't work, and maybe the walking didn't help either; so it's back to the pool!

It's suppose to hit 90 today so I will swim outdoors, and switch to indoors near the office during the free lunchtime swim. I'm at 158 as of yesterday.

Thursday Walk

First walk of the season at 6AM, and I suppose first walk of the year at 6AM. It's pitch black out there and too dangerous to text while I walk as I am dodging sprinklers running as well as garbage and recycling. In short, it's a danger zone out there. Did see a number of runners out that early, all with the same schedule issues as I, I suppose.

Was done in 50 minutes, as I walk faster when it's brisk out and I am not preoccupied with texting or talking on the phone, although my daughter was texting me that early.

Am undecided on what time to go out tomorrow, 6AM or afterwork.

Tough decisions! Right!

Wednesday Walk

Well, out walking, having blown off the idea of walking this morning at 6, although I did get up and go to work at that time.

And since I am doing my Italian class tomorrow I really need to exercise in the morning.

And all ready on this walk I had to take a call from my former client in Korea, calling from Seoul, and a person at my company and my mom. They always find me. I am too accessable. Not that I can spell it!

I can see why Lance once threw his away when on his bike.

I still have not committed yet to the marathon, but leaning in that direction. I am afraid that after the ny marathon it will be a let down.

The entry list is capped at 17,000. The ny m has 40,000 entries and probably a million spectators.

Will get back to the bike this weekend. It will have been 2 weeks. Hopefully no knee pain. Need to walk 4 times this week too.

Well that's it from here. Almost finished exercising and home is in sight!

Monday/Tuesday

Monday worked from 7 AM to 5:30, dashed to a dinner party for 25 and then worked from c:30 to 10:30. No exercise.

Tuesday worked from 7 am to 6 and justed was too mentally shot to do anything but tomorrow is a new day and I will be out there at 6 am for an hour.

But I am still behind on reading and my Italian studying, having done none since last week.

A Domani

Sunday Walk, Swim

Did 4 mile walk in an hour and at the end stopped at the pool and swam a mile, as it was 90 and the pool was very refreshing. Worked on the phone the whole walk as work continues to interfer with life. I worked 70 hours last week and am still well behind but there are no more hours in the week to use. But I am getting closer to committing to the Dallas marathon.

Saturday walk

I have decided to take advantage of the fact that I had to work all morning and skip cycling this weekend to see if a two week break heals the nagging knee injury from "the Pedal change" incident.

The walk was uneventful although I passed the entire hour talking on the phone with my sister about IT issues as she works in that field. It certainly makes the time go faster. And after 12 miles on the road this week, my legs are getting their walking muscles back slowly. Thoughts of the Dallas Marathon have crossed my mind...

Friday Walk while blogging

A first.
I am typing this out as I walk.
There is a book I own, a novel by a Dutchman, that is written from the POV of a bike racer in a one day stage race.

This isn't quite the same but I used to email and text during the ny marathon and even call people.

So I am a mile into my 4 mile walk and all ready it's feeling easier than 2 days ago. Listening to Mahler's 5th symphony, conducted by Bernstein. I think Mahler was once conductor at the NY Phil, and of course so was Lenny. (So how obnoxious is that?!)

I love the 5th and we heard it live at the dallas symphony 2 weeks ago. Heard it for the first time 3 years ago and fell in love instantly. It is amazing and increably complex. I think even more so than Beethoven although it's a difficult comparison because of the years between them.

I can see why Lance wanted to come back, as I would have done the marathon again if I could have gotten my 8 am slot. Oh well.maybe another year. I will always treasure my 3 participation medals. And yes, the first year flying home I wore mine! As did other people.

I admit to being a creature of habit, as I always walk the same route when I do 4 miles. I also have a 6 mile route and an 8 mile and 12 mile one. I never do more than 12 miles before a marathon in practice. And I do the latter 3 weeks in a row as my long walk.

And the last two times on my route I have seen the same UPS driver in the same place, resting.

They always wave at me. Nice group of people.

Halfway point.

I am wearing the same sneakers that I have worn for the 3 marathons as well as all my training, so they have about 700-800 miles in them. But as worn as they are they are so comfortable and never give me blisters.

I think the sports story of the year is Lance. He will not admit it in the press but he is not playing to do anything but win. And win only one race. The tdf. I hope he does. And while his team mate Contrador has won all 3 great tours in the last 2 years, he will not be happy, as these guys know Lance. And as old as he is I bet they fear him. As well they should. It will be an amazing 9 months, but hey, I think dara torres' 100 meter leg on the relay was the fastest in history. She is 41. We shall see.

I have had not a minute this week that was not programmed with work or class or study or eating and sleeping. Been a tough week. I think I worked about 60 - 70 hours, and I need to work all weekend.

Last night on my way to Italian class a Ferrari Modena passed me, bright yellow, with it's 4 exhausts. Giving off a sound as beautiful as anything I hear. What a rush driving that must be. It was exciting to watch it stay next to me and then accelerate away like a flying saucer.

Last 1/2 mile.

Past my pool, which is still open and inviting since it has been 90 ogni giourno questa settimane.

I must say that studying Italian grammar is hard for me. I have no and have never had any memorization skills. Which is why at my advanced age I am shamed by watching people in my class who have barely been to Italy speak better tha I.

I will need to live there to pick this up.

Almost home, and my legs feel the burn as this is no casual walk. But they feel good. Although I bet we have seen the last of Marathon Lance for a while. No more running for him.

I have just run into the only neighbor on my block that I know and he was with another guy who is a cyclist and my speed. Even bikes up where I do. I have taken his number and will hope to bike with him. Good deal.

Well, home. And Mahler is still going as it clocks in at an hour and 10 minutes and my walk is always an hour.

Ciao!

Thursday Italian Lessons

No exercise on Thursday. Long week involved with very long hours. WIll walk on Friday. Haven't made the decision to bike or not bike on the weekend. My knee feels fine, but last Sunday I could still feel that it did not feel great. I may try it and if it still feels dodgy rest it the following weekend.

Wednesday Walk

So I set my alarm for 6 AM to walk for an hour before work, actually got up and just before I was set to leave I discoved my iPOD battery was dead. So I cancelled the walk, showered and went to work early again.the thought of walking for an hour sans music is not what I had in mind.

But I did walk for an hour after work, the first time I have walked as exercise since last year's NY marathon.

It doesn't burn as much calories as biking, but it is exercise. At 4 miles an hour.

And Bethoven was sublime.

Tuesday - Work Day

I am suddenly quite busy at work and went in at 6:30 AM today and left at 7PM and there really wasn't any time to exercise -- so I will be walking tomorrow morning, no ifs, ands or buts. Lance will officially announce his comeback plans in about a week. That should be exciting.

BTW, You are probably aware that there are now ads on my Blog. These are approved by me as I have allowed my blog to participate in targeted ads. I wanted to see how Google's AdSense worked and this is a real time tutorial -- as is most of this blog -- a learning experience for me.

My intent is to keep it going for one year in my bicycling life and then, in all likelihood, shut it down, as each year is probably pretty much more of the same.

Monday Rest Day

So I rested my knee today. Tomorrow I will either swim or walk for an hour. The temps are back in the 90's now and will be all week as we close our September with the usual warn week that is summer's last gasp here. What I look forward to most about walking for an hour is listening to classical music on my iPOD.

Another day another 50 miles

It was a very easy and reasonably fast 35 miles today, but I had 50 to hit home. I ran out of gas out there at 35 -- as I guess the dinner of Cheerios last night wasn't enough to fuel me up for the ride. But it was still relatively painless and uneventful. I didn't pass one rider and no one passed me for the 3 hours. I saw perhaps 3 or 4 riders out there. Not a lot.

Most riders on the opposite side of the road give the cyclists wave -although men more so than women. A lot of women seem to treat males cyclists as though we were radioactive or toxic. I don't think they are unaware of the cyclists wave. They also wear IPOD earbuds more often than men too -- another sign that says please don't talk to me.

I have heard from women that they don't like to ride with men because we are either too fast or two competitive. Funny, as I always get my butt kicked by all the women who do the rides from either bike store nearby. It is rare to see women riding alone, like I do, and overall I think cycling, like a lot of sports, is very male dominated, although I do see more women runners than men out in our neighborhood.

I always wave, and always say hi if I pass someone but I have noticed that the faster a person is who passes me the less likely they are to say anything. And they usually have earbuds on on too.

But like the code on the seas, other cyclists never fail to stop or ask if I need anything if my tire punctures on the side of the road.

Moose and Squirrel

I didn't post the last two days because I did no exercise. In fact I took the whole week off for one reason or another. Lose of light in the morning and evening, my Italian lesson on Thursday and a desire to rest my knee and not to bike.

But it was a perfect morning today: cool, little wind and bright sunshine, although the light is definitely a little flatter in Fall versus Summer as the Earth's tilts more on its axis.

Did a relaxed 50 miles today, on one water bottle, one banana and one gu gel. I hardly exerted myself, an still averaged 16 mph, which is near my top end. Near the end of my ride I passed one of the more ostentatious mansions on my ride, with a large bronze moose in the yard, lifesize. I thought about coming back at night with a sign that says "Sarah Spare ME!" HaHa.

Then a little later up the road was a squirrel that couldn't decide which way to go as my bike bore down on him. He finally went right as I zoomed passed him. Good thing for me.

Read a bad story about a former golfer that lives here in Dallas and is an announcer on TV -- who was hit my a trailer being towed by a truck who was an asshole and believed he owned the whole road. He's recovered but he broke several ribs, punctured a lung and had his arm crushed. A lady passerby helped him till an ambulance came while the pick-up driver did nothing.

That's every biker's fear around here. Dallas is the 3rd worst major city for bike accidents in the country. Lord knows what one and two are. (NY & LA?). Cyclists get killed here all the time.

My first speech in Italian class next week will be on biking in Italy. A domani.

Wednesday

Still resting my knee. Mowed the back lawn.
Since I am out tomorrow night with my italian lessons I need to do something, so I will walk for an hour, 4 miles before work.

It was pretty much this date a year ago that I went on the NY Marathon website and noticed that my track club had entered me, but neglected to tell or ask me, like they did a the year before.

Entry into the NY Marathon is by lottery. I made it through that way 34 years ago. I think there are 80,000 entries and they select about 35,000. Decent odds, and I made it in my first try. I missed the second year, but my track club called me in the middle of summer and asked if I still wanted to do it. I said yes, and they put me in. Then last year I missed again and the club never called, but on a lark I looked at my name on their website and I was entered. I was excited, and I had 7 weeks to train! I finished with about the same time as the other two: 6 hours.

You see I fast walk it. I can't run because of my herniated discs. The pain is just too great and lingers for two long and it gives me a strange hitch when I run sometimes, not that I run much.

So 4 years ago I came up with this plan to walk it at a little over 4 mph. There were no rules about walking it -- and they even had an early start, 2 hours earlier than the runners, so I would finish at "4 hours", along with the majority of folks, so I wouldn't be out there on my own with a cameraman following the last "runner" in.

While I don't consider myself "disabled", the fact is that my disc damage is not going to get better, so I lined up with other people who had disc issues, were in wheelchairs and on crutches. I was not one of the "fastest" there.

And it was a great event that first time. My cousin came to me me finish and it was 26 miles of smiles.

The second year they wouldn't let me start early because my time was so "fast" the year before, but I had joined the Achilles track club (for disabled runners, and I just wrote on my bib number, "OK for Early Start - Achilles" and they bought that at the start. That year I had learned to write my name on my shirt and everyone yelled, "Go Doug" for 6 hours. I walked with a former Olympic caliber athlete who had been a high jumper but after having her knees replaced could not run. We walked every step together, even though she had targeted 8 hours and we did it in 6.

Then last year I couldn't con my way onto the early bus but a very kind lady from Achilles, an angel, let me into the early start. It was another great race, and my cousin again met me at the end, but I decided that this was it. I couldn't be guaranteed an early spot, we'd had no rain for 3 years, and I "retired" from marathon walking.

But there is no greater single day sporting event for the amateur than this, IMHO. Seeing a million people or more all cheering is just wonderful. And seeing that finish line is priceless. It's at that point that I turn on my IPOD to The theme from Chariots of Fire.

Tuesday Rest Day

Still resting my right knee, and got home too late to bother with the lawn in back and it seemed too cold to swim. No motivation tonight. I know that the knee won't get better if I ride on it and I probably need several weeks to heal it.

Monday Rest Day

I took today off from cycling. Mowed the lawn. My knee is a little sore, from the pedal experiment. I will probably rest it all week and may swim instead.

My Fastest Ride solo - Ever?

I had nothing yesterday and the pedals felt heavy but today was just the opposite! I had my fastest 50 ever, with no drafting -- and finished with an average of 17 mph. I did use the wind strategically as it was blowing quite hard out there, the remnants of yesterday's tropical storm, and from the north to the south, so I rode into it for basically the first 30 and with it behind me the last 20. At mile 16 a rider came up from behind, Lane, and was sociable enough to ride with me for the next 14 miles. He can do 100 miles in 5 hours (he told me about his time -- 5 hours -- in the Hotter Than Hell ride), but he was happy to ride with me for the company. I never drafted him, but did increase my speed to keep up. We parted at mile 30 as he was going north and I was going south. At that point I was at an average of 15.6. With the wind behind me I averaged about 22 mph for the next 8 miles, hitting 27 at times. I ended the ride right at 17, which meant that I averaged almost 19 mph from when Lane and I had split.

The last 3-4 miles are all slightly downhill to my corner and with the wind I poured it on to keep the pace above 22, which helped me end right on a 17 mph average.

Why the difference from yesterday? I will never know.

Saturday Rain

We are about 260 miles from the gulf of Mexico and the outskirts of Hurricane Ike hit us earlier than expected this morning. It swept into the coat and Galveston at 2 AM this morning, about 4 hours ahead of schedule and it started raining here about 9 AM, also 4 hours ahead of schedule, and right at the 25 mile marker of my bike rally, the first annual Patriot Pedal for Project Independence, where 100% of the proceeds go to assisting wounded vets.

I don't normally do these rallies anymore, but since this started in my town, and the cause was so good, I went. Besides instead of having the police lead us out they had an Army Apache Helicopter lead us out, and that thing is way cool and ferocious. Nancy and I saw it take off last night from the parking lot in front of her store and it was amazing.

I had first planned to do 60 miles, and this morning revised it to 40, and along the route when it started to rain I headed home, and finished at 30. The roads were too slick and dangerous. My average today was a fairly high (for me) 16 + mph. Oh well. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice as the hurricane is heading north east, and will miss us by some distance. Fine by me.

Thursday/Friday Rides

Managed an hour after work on Thursday and an hour before work on Friday.

Tropical Storm Ike is due to hit the North Texas area tomorrow, so the Patriot Pedal bike ride I was planning on doing might get rained out. Unsure as of yet. Shame as the city of Southlake has a huge celebration this Saturday and the Italian Club has an outdoor festival downtown and both events looks to be problematic given the storm.

Wednesday Ride

No post yesterday as it rained almost all morning and day and I had a pre-Italian class last night. Yes, after living in Italy from ages 8-16 and traveling there about 30 times on vacations I have decided to improve my skills in speaking. I signed up for 13 weeks of lessons, an hour and a half a week, through Xmas. If it works out, I may continue through next year too, and surprise everyone in Italy with my new skills. Well, that's the plan.

I must admit that at 6 AM the thought furthest from my mind was getting on a bike when showers were expected all day, again. But as usual I am glad I did. I did no exercise for two days and had a business lunch on Monday, Tuesday and one scheduled for Wednesday as well as well as a business dinner -- so it was ride or else feel like a slug. So I rode.

I had a great ride, quite fast, as the pedals felt very light. Some days that happens. Some days the opposite happens.

OK, now for the biggest cycling story of the year: Lance Armstrong is going to make a comeback to ride in the TDF!! What a story!

More as the year unfolds for Lance.

Monday Off Day

I decided to rest today. I might have considered either swimming or walking for an hour, but it was raining when I left work. Will either bike, swim or walk after work tomorrow.

10 miles too far!

I ran out of gas today at about mile 60 today, about 10 miles from home, and while the last 3 miles were good (mostly downhill) I had very little in the tank from mile 60-67 today.

I decided to go for a 75 miler today as I had nothing better to do, and hadn't done the Kenneth Copeland ride in a year. (It goes past his mega church in Newark.) I was toying with the idea of an 85 miler, but at the decision point I bailed as I had little food left. I eat every hour and had all ready downed two gel packs, a bag of cashews mixed with dried cranberries and a PBJ sandwich. It wasn't enough, although I had another gel pack in the last half hour.

So I can see that my weekly training is really good for 60 miles or I need a different food program on the bike, or both.

But it was a fun ride and the wind wasn't too bad, although my allergies kicked in with avengence today. It wasn't pretty.

The most unusual I saw on the road today was three dead snakes -- two of them being at least three feet long and the other one about that length. It was rather strange, having gone the whole summer without seeing one dead of that length. Also saw a baby deer dead on the road. That's also a first out here in Texas. And...saw a live skunk on the side of the road that I surprised. Luckily I he was facing me and I think they spray from behind. But I was gone in a flash as I was rolling at 20 mph at that point, but I did see the back arch up.

Saturday 50

So after several months of training I have to admit that the 50 milers roll along pretty easily now, as compared to the start of the season. Tomorrow I may do 65 and a different route that I only do about once a year.

My knee held up today although it's not 100%. I did not bike all week with my last ride being the 50 on Monday, although I swam twice this week.

The only bit of adventure today was stopping to help a woman fix a flat, as she punctured just across the road in the opposite direction. They were three pretty fit women, and had all done the Hotter Than Hell a few weeks ago. And they were riding from Halthom City, which is quite a hike from where we were in Roanoke.

Thursday Swim

Swam for a half hour after work today and for the first time all summer the water was cold upon entry and it took 2 laps for me to feel warm, so the temp must have been around 82. Usually it's warmer than that at this time of year, but we've had a "cold" spell here, with temps in the 80's. Swim was fine although I had to adjust my goggles at least 4 times as water was leaking into them, and that's no good when you are wearing contacts. Need to make a new mix tape though as I am wearing out Grieg and Bruce.

windy Wednesday

The huricane will miss us but the winds swirling ahead of it are here, along with cool temps, in the low 80's. I am off the bike till Friday and blew off swimming tonight. Will swim tomorrow. The season is over, in any event.

1800 miles in 3 months

I went back and charted my miles since the first week of June and give or take a few miles I'm at 1800 for the 3 month period, averaging about 150 a week, although there are two weeks in there, in Iowa and Italy, where I did close to 500 miles each week. So more than half of my miles during the 12 week period were done in two of those weeks alone. I may be off on my math somewhere!

Tuesday Rest Day

I have decided to call today a rest day, and will rest my Knee pretty much till Friday, although it's not giving me any pain today, which is good. And I didn't want to swim 2 days in a row, although there's no soreness in my shoulder either. Will swim tomorrow and Friday. Thursday I may walk. More on that in another post.

back in the pool

Had nothing to do this afternoon, and the the cleaning ladies were due in, and since I don't like to be home when they are, and Nancy was going to work she suggested that I go swimming. I thought about it and decided, why not. It was a gorgeously warm day, and a nice relaxing swim would be welcome.
My 25 meter pool was empty when I arrived, so I had it all to myself, whivh is just delightful. As I swam my first few laps and looked at the bottom of the pool, I realised just how correct David Hockney's Swimming pool paintings were. I remember David Geffen owned one. If I had millions I would own one too.

I swam to my favorite mix tape of Greig and Born in the USA. It's lasted the longest of all my swim tapes. It's a good mix of great paced songs plus great classical tunes.

Labor Day

Did a very nice easy 50 miles today at 14 mph. No sweat and very little pain. A walk in the park, and finished strong. Saw two bike groups out there today, both going the opposite direction. Most of the group bike rides are too fast for me, which is a shame as I wouldn't mind the company of a peleton once in a while. The bike shop near my company in New Jersey used to run multiple rides for people of all speeds. I rode in the 14-16 mph group and enjoyed it. Here they generally have a very fast group and a fast group. I tried explaining this to the manager of the local bike store but he believed everyone was fast enough to ride in the 18 - 20 mph average group. I beg to differ, but he didn't buy my argument. I have put together groups of cyclists over the past 20 years that I have cycled, but either they move away, or I move away.

On The 7th day he rested

I usually always make the wrong move about exercising when hurt, but today I decided that because I could still "feel" my knee yesterday afternoon I decided to take the day off; besides if I felt no pain on Sunday I could cycle on Labor Day -- which is now my plan.

So I did 2 hours of yard work. Yuck. Would rather bike 50 miles.

More RAGBRAI Photos!

I have posted another 12 photos from RAGBRAI in Iowa. The URL is in the upper left and connects to the same photo album that has my Italian photos. The first 12 are RAGBRAI and the next are all Italy. Enjoy!!

Saturday Race

First the good news: today was my fastest solo 50 miler of the year. But, and there's always a but, it was not exactly a fun ride. Three guys from my old cycling group passed me about one hour into the ride, just after I had done a personal time trial for 2 miles across the dam at the end of Lake Grapevine, so I was in rest mode when they went by. I thought about giving chase, but I was spent and there were three of them, which allows for them to alternate drafting and besides, the reason I don't ride with them anymore is that they are all about 20% faster than I am -- and there's one guy in the group who is not friendly.

None-the-less, I did amp up my speed and made somewhat of an attempt and caught them at a light in about 4 miles. I rode with them for a while, but J., the one guy from my old group who no longer talks to me was leading and increased the speed to 24, which even drafting was too much for me after a mile, so I dropped back. I am sure he did it on purpose (Only the paranoid survive!), as he looked back at one point to see if I was still there. Then he slowed down to a normal 18 mph, so I put on a furious attack up to 25 mph and caught up to them just to say thanks for the ride to the one nice guy I know in the group. Then I let them go again. That attack caused me to go too far into my anaerobic zone and it took me 15 minutes to recover. Do I admit to being a bit competitive? :) Well, yes, despite my slow speed.

I did pass them again at mile 30 when they stopped for a bio break on the side of the road. Then they passed me at mile 36 and that was that.

But I did maintain my speed all the way in and averaged 16, which is high for me solo, as my usual speed is 14.

Finished at 155.8 lbs, 5.5% body fat and 60% hydration, which is odd, because the sweat today was running off my head. It was 85 with 61% humidity. Pretty awful out there

But the ride was not much fun. Too back and forth in speed. I never got into a comfortable rhythm. I plan on a nice easy ride tomorrow! No more chasing down folks.

Friday Ride

Decided to ride before work (which was a good idea as an afternoon thunderstorm dumped buckets of water on the roads), and test my knee with my old pedals out there. I could feel the knee as I started and almost thought about doing the smart thing and turning back -- but I never do the smart thing, and soldiered on for an hour. It felt almost perfect at the end, so I was happy. I also did not win the pedals on EBAY, as someone bid an even more obscene amount for used pedals than I was prepared to. So I am bidding on another pair of more beat up ones, but they still look better than my current ones.

Thursday - Enforced Rest

I have put the old pedals on, cleaned up the new ones and sending them back to Performance Bike and bidding on a replacement pair for the ones I have on Ebay -- and watching Obama in Denver.

Tomorrow I will do an hour in the morning and see how the knee works.

Had lunch with a real athlete - retired today. Former Champion figure skater. Told me she finds the concentration of hours on a bike difficult. Methinks she's being polite as I have no doubt that with a month of training she'd ride rings around me!

OK, so I did beat half the Cittadella team up the mountain -- but they are all probably 65-70!

Worlds Slowest Triathlete -- C'Est Moi!

Wednesday Knee Pain

OK, so I was not lucky. The new pedals and cleat alignmnet caused a slight pain in my right knee about halfway through the ride. So I will put the old pedals back on. Oh well. The pain is in my right knee, the same knee that has caused me problems since I was 20.

Other than that it was an uneventful 15 miles tonight in 95 degree heat. Went through a whole 24 oz water bottle -- which in the morning lasts 2 hours. Came home and drank another 16 oz. But it didn't feel all that hot as I am pretty used to it. And no, it's no longer a dry heat here in Texas. Arizona yes, but not here.

Will take off tomorrow and heal the knee and try again with the old pedals on Friday.

Tuesday Evening Ride

Given that I don't have much time and light in the morning I rode after work tonight, a rare time for me these days. There was a time when I always biked after work, but in those days I got to work at 7 am for some stupid reason. Then a few years ago I started to bike to work during the summer and/or bike before work, and since then I have rarely ridden in the evening. It was about 95 but didn't seem like any big deal, although if it was 95 on the Northeast coast at 6PM there would be a heat advisory.

I cruised for an hour, testing out my new pedals and hoping that there would be no knee pain given that my foot (and hence knee) was in a different locked position from my old pedals. But it felt fine and if that's the case tomorrow I will do another 15 and keep it up. If pain develops the experiment is over and it's back to the old pedals.

Monday Swim

Since I wasn't biking today and the temps were in the mid 90's I swam after work. Workout was good although for the second time in 2 swims my right shoulder started to hurt a bit after 30 minutes.

And I must saw that the swim made me both hungary and tired.

Back to the bike tomorrow, albeit it after the work.

The season draws to a close

My season officially ends around September 1 as I lose the daylight before work and after work as well so biking during the week becomes problematic. I bike only on weekends, although I will bike all winter as long as there's no ice on the ground. I have fanatical friends who bike indoors but I have found that to be too boring and hot. I will swim indoors this winter.

I did accomplish all my goals for the summer:

1. Completed my second RAGBRAI across Iowa
2. Rode in Italy for my fourth summer in a row
3. Got back to my usual summer weight
4. Got as fit as I normally am in cycling season

Monday is an off day for biking. May swim after work.

Sunday Ride

Another Sunday, another strong 50 -- and very uneventful. Did see a lot of women cyclists out there today, which is unusual. Also unusual is that I went the whole 50 without one cyclist passing me; odd, given my slow speed.

But a perfect weekend, as defined by cycling 50 miles both days, and the Thursday/Friday beforehand. I bought new Shimano spd pedals, which resulted in many trips to the bike store to get parts and hardware to attach them to my shoe. My old pedals were about 15 years old and had some broken parts in them. Didn't impede their function but did make noise. I will test them out this week on a short ride to make sure they don't cause knee pain.

Yahoos in Texas

I suppose it goes without saying that there are probably more yahoos, typically in pick up trucks, per square mile than in any other state.

They delight in zooming past too close and occasionally throwing stuff, or just screaming obscenities. But today hit a new low, even for Texas. Tow assholes in a battered 280 Z passed me while I was in a full car shoulder lane and yelled N---er at me. Rather bizarre. Granted, I was in a full black kit, and I am tan, but really??

And Jackie Robinson aside, it's at that point that I wished I had the power to cause a tire blowout. It's just not enough to know that I will out earn them my whole life!

The ride otherwise was good, and did a strong 50. Saw more small groups of cyclists out today than in a long while, odd because today is the Hotter Than Hell century ride in Wichita falls, about 2 1/2 hours north of here.

I have done that ride, once, so no need to do it again, as you generally need to incur the cost of a hotel room for the night before. It was fun, once. Now they are actually making everyone pay for 2 nights, which is a real rip off.

Swimming

Had nothing to do today after work, and the weather was warm, at 98, so I decided to go for a swim, as I hadn't been in the pool since RAGBRAI to do serious laps.
I was a little out of shape, but did about a mile. Met a nice fellow swimmer, Ken, who was on heavy weight crew at Syracuse University for 4 years back in the late 80's. Big guy! we talked about the Olympics for a time since I am always in a social mood in the pool (or on a bike).

another fast time

Today's time was the same as yesterday, although the wind had shifted. Instead of blowing me home with a north wind, the wind is now blowing from the south, as the summer's heat returns.
I am still suffering from Italy withdrawal.

Faster

Finally was able to get out this morning at 7AM for an hour before work, but this is about the last week before I lose the light in the morning.

Forecast calls for rain again today but the radar was clear so I went for it. It was good to get out after three days of doing nothing. There was no wind to speak of this AM although the humidity was around 85 -90%.

I was feeling decent and with about 5 miles to go started to go faster, and finished with my highest average for a morning hour, over 15mph, in quite a while. My last 3 miles were over 20.

RAIN

It has rained on and off for 7 days now, and caused me to pause in my training. Tough to bike in the rain, and while I will swim in it, it's been lightning too, which makes it dangerous.

So no exercise Monday or Tuesday and today is Wednesday and not looking very promising. I might get to swim today after work, but it's only a possibility.

Booking Italy for Next May

Remembering that one can book award travel 331 days in advance I booked my next trip to Italy for May 2009 this morning using 60,000 miles. Booked same flights and seats that I had this trip. Can't wait!

Sunday Ride

Another day, another 50 miles.
Felt stronger today, although my average speed was identical to yesterday.
And as luck would have it, with about 8 miles to go I saw three people closing in fast behind me and jumped on the last person's wheel, and drafted them at an incredible speed of 24 mph for the next 3 or 4 miles until I turned off while they went straight. I think it was a father and wife and daughter or father and two daughters.

What a great ride!

Saturday Ride

We continue to have uncertain weather here, and it was completely overcast. My rule is I won't start in the rain, but will finish in it. So I folded my rain jacket into my shirt pockets and set out to do 50 miles.

I must say that with no mountains to climb and no cappuccino to savor at the top it's not the same.

The ride was pretty uneventful, although I did have the wind at my back for a very nice 8 mile stretch of straight highway, with made riding very pleasant.

With about 4 miles to go I saw a group of cyclists making a turn into the road I was on, and I sped up to catch them. It was the Bicycle's Inc. Racing team, clearly at the tail end of their 65 mile Saturday ride, and not going too fast at this point, if I caught up with them. I rode with them for about 1/2 mile and then in switching gears, lost my chain and had to stop to put it on --losing about 200 yards in the process. I toyed with the idea of letting them go, but then the thought of drafting them all the way home took over, and like the runner who has fallen in the race in Chariots of Fire, I got on my bike and with a furious charge caught up to them, again, and settled in for a nice ride home as the wind was at our back and it's slightly downhill. Pretty soon the group was doing 27 mph, which is pretty fast for me, but I held on without issue. It was worth the effort I had expended to catch up.

Got home feeling stronger than when I had started, which is always good.

Back In The USA

Arrived back home on Wednesday night, and put my bike together Thursday after work but it was raining by the time I finished, and it continued on Friday morning. I did get out for an hour at the end of the day although I had no speed and biked on autopilot for an hour thinking that this just wasn't as much fun as Italy.

what are the odds, cont.

As I was sitting here in JFK airport waiting for my flight to leave, I saw a familiar face walk by, Bill B., a pilot and captain for American Airline. We shook hands and laughed about the fact that as much as we travel we have never run into each other. I asked where he was headed and it was DFW, so he would be flying me home. I called Nancy and we had a good laugh as she knows Bill and his wife well. They live in Dallas, as do hundreds of AA pilots and yet in the past 11 years we have never run into each other.

Btw, no exercise today! Maybe tomorrow.

It's been a long day and it's about midnight for me, but the sunlight keeps me going.

Also btw, on the way back I had the same cabin crew and the attendent from Italy who I met on the way over, and I had a warm greeting. She's been doing the Italy route for 40 years. AA ha no manditory retirement age for attendents she told me.

Ciao

final report from Italy

Got up at 3:45 and left the hotel at 4 AM, and took a highway to the Autostrada that was not marked until you were on it and 3 hours later was in Milan at Malpensa (literal translation, Bad Thought!). Perhaps my greatest achievement this trip was getting from milan to Borso and back without getting lost or stopping for directions.

But I have to admit the signs for the car rental place are very small(and only in Italian -- Noloreggio).

And I was very proud that the lady checking me in at the Airlines counter asked me all the security questions in Italian for the first time in 30 trips here -- after I had spent a few minutes explaining, in Italian, that bikes fly free. (Next year I am carrying a letter from AA!)

I had my last cappucino until next year and am waiting for the loading of the plane.

I spent my last night at the best pizzeria in town, after turning down, politely, the opportunity to play tennis with Bruno, as I did not have tennis shows with me, and then sat with Bruno and his wife Bruna and my other Italians friends chatting. They were amazed when I used google maps to show them a sattellite view of their house across the street, and then their old house, about 30 miles away. Bruno practised his English with me and we agreed that next year I would bring my tennis shoes.

At 11 we called it a night and everyone wished me a bon viaggo, and asked how to say it in English.

final thoughts

As far as cycling goes this is the best shape I have been in.I have biked 7 days in a row and about 5 hours a day at ragbrai, come home and biked 4 times, then biked another 7 days in a row here in Italy, but doing one mountain climb a day for 6 days straight.

My hamstring held and I had very few aches. I took no motrin or advil here. I consider myself very lucky given my spring.

I averaged about 5 hours a day riding for the week.

I made a lot of Italian friends, and I certainly hope to come back next year.

One of the American couples turned out to be very nice, and I drove them to the bike shop this afternoon and also helped then get a reservation at my favourite hotel in Venice, the Locanda Orseolo.

They have 9 children. She had 6 and he 3. She is in amazing shape for having had 6 children.

They were very appreciative of my help today with their bike wheel issue. And I wouldn't let him bike to the store on a broken bike when I had a car. He was pissed that George wouldn't help, but gee, if George goes out of way for one of his guests where will it end?

With people like me saving $100 a day coming here without his group!

Until next year!

what are the odds??

As I made a right turn off the main road about 8 miles from the hotel I saw 2 cyclists making the same turn, but from the opposite direction. As I looked at the lead cyclist he was wearing a white do rag (no helmet) just like the cyclist I had drafted behinf for an hour on my trip to Enego last week. He and his friend had ridden side by side and then implored me to follow them up the mountain after my hour of drafting.

I looked more closely and it had to be the same guy. As luck would have it we all three were stopped at the train tracks up ahead (for the first time in 4 separate weeks of 4 years of being on this road) and he pulled next to me and obviously recognized me too, saying, ti ricordati? Energo? Do you remember me. I said, of course, and we talked for a while and I told them I went to Conco the hard way this morning. They knew the route I had taken and agreed, that it was indeed Dura, hard.

He asked me if I lived nearby and I said I was on vacation. They asked where from and I told them I was from Texas, and they were very surprised as they had never met a cyclist from the US.

Finally the train went by and we took off together and they drafted me for a mile and then shouted that they were turning to go home. I shouted back that perhaps I would see them next year.

And maybe I will!

Basta Cosi, L'Ultimo Giorno; Enough Already, the last day

It looked a little like rain this morning so instead of heading for parts unknown I figured to ride on roads I knew, so I headed for Conco, which I had climbed with the 10 guys from Cittadella on Sunday.

I found the correct right turn off the main road to Marostica, and saw a sign for the human chess board match in September; I passed familiar stores and was on the lookout for a tricky turn we made on Sunday.

I must have missed it because I soon found myself on about the steepest hill here I haver climbed. I was huffing and puffing, which I almost never do. On Sunday I had talked the whole way up with the group. Clearly this was the wrong road. I figured it must flatten out at some point, from impossibly steep to merely steep, which I can climb with just some effort.

I figured wrong!I seriously thought of turning back but had too much time invested in the climb to turn back, but I seriously thought aboutit!

After 30 to 40 minutes of this I finally reached a town, and bought a few bananas, and started again up the mountain.

Finally I passed by a welcome sight, an Alfa Romeo 164 -- that I had seen the other day, so I knew that I was now on the same road that I had been on before.

Another 45 minutes of climbing and I found myself in Conco, finalmente!

A welcome cappucino and a normal decent found me back at Bassano, with one more surprise, to be posted later.

A Posto

Casino, a Typical Italian Game Show

Let me say at the outset that this one hour game show makes almost no sense and all the 6 female hosts dance topless. Yes, another typical Italian gameshow!
It was on last night, Sunday, from 11 -12. Here's a description.

First the host, a man in his 40's is introduces on a set with a gaming table. Then we are introduced to two contestants, a man in his 40's and an attractive woman in her 30's. Then we are introduced to 5 stunning women, probably all from Slovenia, and those baco bit forner USSR countries that seem to produce all those women that resemble Maria Sharapova. The women all have black bra tops on and very short skirts, that barely cover their cheeks. One of them, with the largest (fake) breasts, is seated and is identified as tonight's "It" girl.

A few games of blackjack are played, but before the games finish, a bell goes off and a cheesy lounge singer comes out on stage (there is a live audience there) looking like Andy Kauffman doing eirther Vic Ferrari or his lounge lizard act, and he sings in badly accented English some pop song I have never heard before.

When he's finished, the seated woman gets up and begins to dance and removes her top. After a few minutes of this it's back to the game.

Everytime the host turns away from the dancer that is next to him flashes her breasts at him.

Then the contestants play a few more games and the whole process with the lounge singer, and the girl is repeated.

Eventually all the women on stage remove their tops and dance and then remain topless, with not much else to do.

The contestents, both the women and man, watch the dancers and applaud.

This goes on for the whole hour, just repeating its self.

It was so boring I turned it off before the hour was up.

I can just imagine this show on American TV.

YMCA

OK, so I am a sucker for the song, and at least "Denise Austin" here was playing the original song, so I figured, why not, and jumped in the pool and joined the throng of about 50 people dancing, all women!

Let me tell you, it is harder than it looks to follow someone in reverse! Besides I suck at mime, dance and simon says. But I did enjoy myself. A little bit of Fire Island right hear at la Conca Verde!

Miss Conca Verde

Since this is FerreAugusto, the Italian vacation in August there are activities all day here at the pool, culminating in the crowning of Miss Conca Verde at 5:30.

And now there is a new Aerobics instructor, a blond ponytailed young lady with lots of renewed energy. No bikes for her as they have been pulled from the pool, as her deal is all dance, which is imitated by her 40 pool followers. She is very enthusiastic.

Give her another hour!

Me, I am waiting for the beauty contest!

Regretfully, it turned out to be a contest for little girls!!

Oh well...I was wondering how they would judge this!

la Concha Verde, the local swimming pool

It is perhaps beyond my writing capabilities to describe the Borso swimming pool. Here are some facts:
Entrance fee is not cheap, at 7 Euros, about 10 bucks.
There's a 50 meter sqaure pool.
A lap pool with 6 lanes that is 25 meters.
There are two large slides with separate pools.
There's a kid's pool.
And there are two outdoor hot tub pools.
It's Monday and there must be, about 500 people here. Yep, and about 350 bikini's, whether they should be on that person or not.
And I am the only person in a racing triathlete suit.
But here is the nuttiest thing: at one end of the 50 meter pool there are 12 people doing a spinning class, in the pool, on spin cycles! With an instructor out of water and a big stereo system behind him. It's a real scream!

I tried to swim laps but the lap pool only has one lane reserved for swimmers!
And despite the sign one mother kept allowing her anoying brat to jump in the pool in that lane and wasn't even watching out for swimmers!4 laps of that and I was done.

I figure you need to be here when the place opens if you want to do laps. But thatls prime tempo pe les bici.

The lifeguards here are the alpha versions of even our usa guards, struting back and forth poolside in their skimpy red speedos flirting with all the women.

Contrary to the seaside beaches here all the women wear tops, althoughs under the age of 8,it appears, do not.but if you are female and lying on your stomach it appears to be permisable to be topless.

Bathing caps are maditory for man and women unless your head is shaved. And there are a lot of italians sporting my look here.

Despite all the bikinis there are no thongs here. Not sure why not, but maybe they are not in vogue this far north and inland.

There are hundreds of orage and yellow targeted umbrella in the ground that dot the grass hillside around the pool, and they and the the chairs under them are free, but I think you need to be here early to score one. There are a few trees and I am under one, as most people here prefer the sun.

BTW, the spin instructor is still at it, after 30 minutes, although he appears to be winding down.

Nope, he was taking a break, although his class wasn't. Now he's back on the bike, blowing his whistle and looking as cool as he can be with his shaved head and shades, atop an exercise bike poolside!

I just walked off the large pool length and it's 43 yards, which is a strange lenth given that it has swimming diving started blocks marked 1-8.

Btw, all the lifeguards here are way darker than Obama!

It does appear that a LG has finally shown up to stand over and police the one lap lane. Nope, he is gone. It's still too chaotic and dangerous to try.

While there are a number of people with tattoos here the percentage is far lower than in the usa.

BTW, one hour in and Mr.Spin is still at it. Though I haven't recognised one song, as it seems to be a mix tape of all techo. OK, now I recognise Call Me, by Blondie, from American Gigolo, but not the singer in this version.

It seems strange that the public pool near my house is empty most summer days while this one is so packed and clearly the place to be.

I mean what else is there to do on a 90 degree lazy Monday August day in Borso Del Grappa? Absolutely nothing.

And there's no better place to be than here.

Un Altro Giorno, Un Altro Caffe!

I was going to go up the Brenta river valley this morning and go right instead of left, to Enego, and go up a different mountain.

Monday mornings here are very slow. Since everyone rode on Sunday, few people ride on Monday. Fortunately, about the only person I saw on the road came up from behind me and as I said hello, he slowed, obviously happy for the company. He told me he was only going to the end of the road as he hadn't really been out all year due to some accident with his leg. He was still pretty strong and we rode side by side for the most part, and talked. He was riding a nice carbon Scapin, which is made nearby, and I complimented him on it. And like yesterday, when I complimented one of my Cittadella friend' Bianchi, he said that it's what's in the legs that count. How true!

We rode into a very stiff wind the whole way, that fortunately he could enjoy on the way back. Regretfully the wind changes around mid morning so by the time I returned it would again be in my face for the final 15 miles.

As I reached the end of the road, truly,I went right, but could not find the climb I wanted so I turned around and climbed the 16 hairpin turns up to Enego, taking my usual hour.

And once again, enjoyed a most delicious cappucino.

I arrived back at the Residence at 12:45, about 5 hours after I had left this morning. The ride was 60 miles, but the climb reduces the average mph.

At 1 Bruna, as promised yesterday, brought me a heaping hot plate of fettucini with homemade tomato sauce, garnised with fresh basil and 3 small tomatoes.She also brought a plate full of amazing small apple strudels that her husband had made. She also gave platefuls of the pastries to several other guests.

She apologised for not inviting me over to eat but the house was a mess from all her cooking. I told her that was fine.

And sat out on the patio in front of the residence and ate an amazing meal! Just wonderful. As were the strudels.

And now, as the day is hot and there. Is nothing else to do, it is pool time.

Doug and Bruna's Motorcycle Adventure

Since it's Sunday the chef (me) has the night off (beside I am out of food) so I had planned to eat out. One of the ladies in the group of folks that I talk with all afternoon, and who lives across from the hotel residence had mentioned to me that there was an excellent Pizzeria in the next town. I searched for it myself by car on my afternoon gelato run but couldn't locate it.

I mentioned this to her late this afternoon and she offered to show me where it was, as the towns are very small.so she brings out her Motor cycle and two helmets, and puts her dog in the "boot" a plastic case with a hole cut out for its head and off we go, with much laughter from the folks back on the patio.first we pull up to her house and she honks until her husband comes to the window and she tells him she is leavig with the american and not returning. We all have a good laugh.

And then we turn around and speed away, ironically on my bike route through town. She asks me if I'm afraid and I say no, I used to drive one in Rome when I was 14.

We get to the Pizzeria parking lot and she let's the dog out and then we start on our way back, with the dog running next to us!we are quite the sight. Not exactly Easy Rider!

Finally her dog tires and we stop and put him back in his trunk, with his little head sticking out. I ask if her husband cut the hole in the plastic but she tells me the mechanic has done it.

We get back to much fanfare and I tell them all that I have fallen off 3 times. They know I am joling and I tell them Bruna is a good driver.

Her husband came out to take the bike to 7 pm mass.

Bruna told me that her husband, who I met yesterday,has studies English at University, but that was obviously years ago. He's a very friendly looking man who always has a smile on his face. She also telle me her grown sons speak English well and one works in London.

She asked me how I found this place as she has never met any Americans here before.

I think to myslef how odd that with all the Americans that come bike her not one of them has paused to engage these folks in a converstion.

Obviously few of us cyclists here speak Italian, but many do, and much better than I do.
But then, the nice getleman I met on the road to Enego the other day lived with his Italian brother in Toronto for 6 years and rarely spoke English.

Bruna went home to wait for her husband.
.
But not before I took a few photographs for the blog.

Everybody Rides On Sunday!

In Italy and especially in this region, the seat of cycling, everyone with a racing bike rides, typically with their club and club kits. One after another the groups go by; the young, the middle aged and the pensioners, thin, fat and in between they are all out. Forget church. Cycling is their religion on Sunday.
I left at 7 am, figuring to find my way to Marostica (where in the middle of the square, is a human sized chesboard, one of 2 in Italy, the other being in Gubbio), and them find a climb up to Conco that I had ridden before.

I found my way to Marostica, and then hoped the right hand turn I was looking for would be marked, and it was. Better yet I saw a man on a bike turning just then. I caught up to him and asked if this was the way to Conco. He said yes and asked me to join him. His team was ahead of him. I said I went quite slowly in the mountains, and he said that was fine, as so did he. He said together we would go slowly. He asked where I lived and I told him and he said, ah, a friend of George Bush!, I said no, but as we caught up to his teamates he introduced me as a friendly Texan and friend og George Bush. It was all in good fun and there were perhaps 10 guys, all over 60, from Cittadella, a village south of Bassano. The climb to Conco took about an hour and a half, and eventually the group split and I rode in the first group with their three "fastest" riders. When we reached Conco and waited for the others I took their pictures and told them I was going to a bar I knew for my cappucino. They asked me to come with them another 6 miles up to another mountain top, where they were all going to drink wine. They said it makes you fly down the mountain! I said it would make me fall off the mountain! So we parted ways with hearty handshakes and great memories and I went to my favourite bar for my much anticipated caffe.

As I sipped my cappucino I realised how much more richer this trip's experiences have been because I have spent all my time with Italians and no Americans, as I have in the past. I made the right decision not to come with George's group as I have the past three years.

A Presto

The Residence

I am not in either one of the two hotels that Silvia owns in the area, but rather in the Residence, a dormitory like structure with larger rooms and kitchens. I chose it deliberately so I could interact with the other cyclists here. But that turned out to be a bust as aside from one cyclist who has left, the other 5 are as antisocial as can be. Whereas all the Italian couples here love to talk to me, the Americans barely say hello.

I have met everyone here. Aside from the antisocial cyclists there are two very nice elderly Italian couples, and 5 Hungarian men here working on something for Silvia. They speak no English and only a few words of Italian, but they are very friendly and always say hello to me.

They are all about 35, and very tan, and very large, all built like former weightlifters with big guts. They generally all wear just short shorts and no shirt and sit and smoke around the patio table.

But despite their appearance, they ae never rowdy and never drunk, unlike a lot of German tourists at all the bars in town.

But they definitely look like you want them on your side in a fight.

I always laugh when they pile into their litle car and their combined weight drops the car body a few inches!

A Magnificent Saturday ride!

Drafting behind two italians riding side by side for the first 18 miles.....wonderful

Them not minding it one bit, even better.

A one hour climb up the mountain to Enego....easier than two days ago

The world's best cappucino at the very top....yes, priceless!

As they say in cycling, I had "legs" today. Was very strong. Like the final day of ragbrai. Strong all the way home, for 60 miles.

I left at 7 am this morning, and quickly met two cyclists who came from behind me riding side by side. They were not doing a punishing pace, maybe 16 to 18 mph. I fell in and they recognised me by beginning to point out holes in the pavement and grates, which is polite when someone is drafting. I hung with them all the way to the end of the road, up the river valley. At the end I thanked them profusely for the pull and they said but I now must come to Enego, which was a 1 hour climb (for me). I said yes, I was going, but that I was very slow and wanted to say thanks now. I followed them a few 100 meters while we both ate our bananas and they took off. I figured that their pace that morning prior to the mountain was just for fun, as no one who looks like do, in their matching club kits rides that slowly and climbs that fast. And therein lies the difference between the usa and here. Some days the italians just like to relax on a bike, and then use their energy for the mountain. In the states people go as fast as they can, almost all the time.

I had the done the Enego clinb two days ago and it was definitely easier today. The weather was cooler and I was, perhaps, 5 to 10 percent faster. As I neared the top, after 16 hairpin turns (Grappa has about 30), I saw my two friends coming down. Based on the time it takes to pause per un caffe, I figure they beat me by 15 minutes.
As I rounded the final corner into town I saw my favourite bar and stopped.

A cappucino never tastes so good as when you have just spent an hour slogging up a mountain!

Enego is a beautiful mountaintop town, and in this northern region, so close to the Swiss border, resembles a cross between an Italian town and a Swiss resort. It is charming.

Having savored my cappucino I put on my windbreaker and began my half hour decent, which was pretty good as these roads are wider than Grappa's.
Just when I approached the turnoff back home, at the foot of the climb I saw a man in his 60's and two very pretty and fit (and very well outfitted --this is Italy) girls/women, looking to be about 20.

The part of the road we were about to ride on is for bikes only, with no cars, and very narrow, more of a paved path, so I figured it would be a good thing to follow them as traffic coming the opposite way would see the 4 of us, more so than me alone. (Ok, and the view from behind wasn't bad either. Dad (grandpa? Uncle?) Was booking it at 18 to 20 and they were right there, as was I. I drafted them halfway down the river road until they stopped for a caffe and I continued solo all the way home, finishing stronger at the finish than at the start.

Finishing up my pbj and chips on the patio looking up at Mt Grappa. Hard to beat this.

Saturday

Days are meaningless to me here, expect to remind me when I leave.
After a very stormy afternoon and evening and night yesterday it is a brilliant morning. Sunny, no clouds, no more humidity. Brisk temps and no wind. A perfect biking day. Today would have been the day to climb Grappa. But yesterday was fine too. I also hear that the main road that I used has more cars on it during the weekend.

So I shall do the Brenta river ride to the end and then decide left or right!

Mt Grappa and Luck

I have read that it is better to be luck than good. And today was a good example of that.

I left the hotel at a little after 7 this morning, with no concrete destination in mind for the day.

As I neared the bottom of the 18 mile Mt Grappa climb I saw a person pedaling slowly up ahead. As I biked past her I noticed she was a woman, somewhat rare to see even here on a bike and I wondered if it was Ada, an Italian friend of George's who is in her mid 50's and likes Americans enough to bike with George's group weekly. Despite her proximity to so many Americans she doesn't know a word of English. I have biked with her once each year for the past three and we have always gotten along well together as I can putter around in Italian and she is as slow as I am on the bike.
I hoped I would see her here this week, as she is lots of fun.

As I passed her and looked at her we recognised each other at the same time. How she recognised me in full kit, helmet and sunglasses I don't know but she did. She asked where I was biking today and I said I didn't know. She invited me to climb Mt Grappa with and her friends halfway and I thought about it and said yes. By now her friend, Francesca and her husband, Flavio, had shown up and I was introduced. I actually had ridden with Francesca last year one day to Conco, with Ada, but she didn't remember me.in her tight outfit she looked a bit like the Michelin woman. Her husband, however, looked like a football linebacker.
slowly we made up Grappa, which is so steep at the beginning that you think yourself crazy for doing this, given that it goes on like this for almost 2 and one-hours!
A word about Grappa, as that's how I came to find this place. About 20 years ago a writer for a bike magazine, Christopher Hoch, wrote a great article about climbng this mountain, and staying at the Italian Bicycling Center, started and run by what he described as a curmungeon named George, who was then 55 and with little marketing save for small space ads in bike mags, attracted enough people so that there were on average 8 people there daily. He led the rides and was very regimented: out at 8:00am, back by 12:30, one cafe stop and all meals together at specific times, because he would only read the set menu of the meal one time.
I read the article and harboured a secret desire to go and climb Mt Grappa, which in the Tour De France would be a Category 1 climb. So I put the *rticle in my sock drawer, where I would see it every day and about 12-15 years later I brought my wife here. I loved the biking here, George less so. Few people warm up to him at first, but most people here are repeaters, as often as 14 times.when I got back I tracked down Christopher Hoch and thanked him for the article. I made his day. (Isn't the internet wonderful for finding folks!?)
I climbed Mt. Grappa that first year as well as my second year. Last year it rained 3 of 5 days we were here, and I didn't.
So I knew what to expect this morning
It was already hot out this morning as we began the climb. Ada reminded me that the first part ws the steepest. Quickly I had sweated though my whole outfit. My pants, shirt and even clothes! The sweat was pouring off me. Flavio and Ada didn't wear their helmets up, although they had them clipped to their bike for the ride down. Flavio joined me while Francesca and Ada fell back. It was evident that for Flavio this was a piece of cake, despite his size. He wasn't drinking any water and barely breaking a sweat! I was dripping and chugging gatorade.
We talked on the way up, until 3 guys passed us that he knew and he took off with them. About 15 minutes later I saw him waiting for me. He told me that one of the guys had been a former world champion cyclist, and lived nearby in Semonzo. The man was now about my age, although clearly more blessed in the speed gene pool than I.
After about an hour and a half of climbing we reached a small village, well, really a small hotel, restaurant and bar. We stopped here and waited for the girls. Francesca wasn't but a few minutes back and when she arrived she told uis that her right calf had cramped. Ada took much longer and also arrived with a leg cramp. They were both going back down rather than continue the climb.I asked Flavio but he too was turning back. He had climbd Grappa 18 times this year and had a 100 mile ride tomorrow and wanted to be fresh!
But they urged me to go on, and Flavio even gave me his secret weapon for decending, a trash bag; he demonstrated tearing a hole in the bottom for one's head and as well as arm holes and said to put in on under my soaking wet shirt when I came down. He said that no air would get through.
I folded it up and stashed it and continued my climb, knowing it would be another hour of brutal climbing before I reached the top.

As you get to the top of Grappa, which is about 6000' up, you begin to hear cow bells ring out as every cow has one and there is a farmer who has several herds, for cheese.it's an eerie and amusing sound in an otherwise silent climb, as generally people don't talk much as they climb.
Reaching the top is rather anticlimactic. There's no one clapping or taking your photo, with the caption I climbed Mt Grappa (now they could sell thousands of thse a year!).you wonder into the bar, where the only water is for sale, and begin to put on every bit of clothing for the decent, as it's about 35 to 40 up there!
Then it's down the way you came, either screaming down the hill at speeds up to 45 or 50 like all the italians, or holding on to the brakes for dear life, like yours truly!

About halfway down I look off to the distance and it looks like rain, which starts just as I pass the restaurant where I said ciao ciao to Ada and Flavio and Francesca. I stop because there is nothing worse than decending in a storm.

I go in for un caffe and watch a huge thunder storm roll up the mountain. Then comes the hail, and finally after an hour, fog. I decide to leave while it's dry.

I made it all the way back to the hotel just minutes before the next thunderstorm came through.

Better to be lucky than good!